Adjustable spraying device



July 31, 1962 w. s. MCLHINNEY ADJUSTABLE SPRAYING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 17, 1961 Fig. 3

I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I u I William .S. McLh/nney INVENTOR. 40%". BY @n.

July 31, 1962 Filed Aug. 17, 1961 Fig. 2

W S. M LHINNEY ADJUSTABLE SPRAYING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig. 7 9o 54 94 I 20 5 William .5? McL hilmey 1 N VE N TOR.

BY MM United States Patent 3,047,241 ADJUSTABLE SPRAYENG DEVICE William S. McLhinney, 222 E. College St, Canonsburg, Pa. Filed Aug. 17, 1961, Ser. No. 132,107 9 Claims. (Cl. 239-273) This invention relates to liquid dispersing devices, and particularly to a device for dispersing liquid in a spray pattern for fighting or preventing the spread of fires.

Briefly, the invention comprises a curved pipe having a row of bores on one side thereof and adjustably mounted on a base. The curved pipe is releasably connected to a source of water pressure and may be adjusably locked to the base in any desired position so as to direct the spray therefrom in the proper direction. A device is provided on the spray pipe for adjustably locking it in any desired position, however, this device may be selectively immobilized and the spray pipe may be oscillated by manual means.

Accordingly, it is a primary object of this invention to provide a novel spraying device for fighting fires, for preventing the spread of fires, or to create a water curtain to protect firemen or property during the fighting of a fire.

It is another object of the invention to provide a spraying device including a curved pipe having spraying passages in one side thereof that are arranged and directed so as to provide an improved spray pattern for fighting fires.

It is another object of the invention to provide a spraying device which may be quickly assembled or disassembled for repair and maintenance thereof.

It is another object of the invention to provide a spraying device having a partially collapsible base for facilitating transportation and storage thereof.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a spraying device particularly adapted for fighting fires which may be selectively adjusted in any fixed position, or alternatively may be manually oscillated so as to direct the water therefrom in the desired places.-

A still further object of the invention is to provide a spraying device which is simple in design, is economical to manufacture, and is durable and reliable in use.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Patented July 31, 1962 necting the lower ends of upstanding legs 20 and 22. A thrust plate 24 of rectangular shape and substantially the same size as the bight portion 18, but slightly shorter is pivotally mounted thereon by a rivet 256. Normally the thrust plate lies between the upstanding legs 20 and 22, but it may be rotated to a position whereby it is 90 to the longitudinal axis of the sprayer so as to increase the stability and supporting capacities of the base.

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the spraying device in use with the spray pipe locked in position;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view similar to FIGURE 1 but showing the spraying pipe unlocked from its frame and being manually oscillated;

FIGURE 3 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view through the center of the spraying device; 7

FIGURE 4 is a right end view of the device shown in FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a left end view of the device;

FIGURE 6 is a vertical cross sectional view taken through a portion of the left end of the spraying device and the locking mechanism therefor in looking position;

FIGURE 7 is a horizontal cross sectional view taken substantially on the plane of line 7--7 of FIGURE 6; and

FIGURE 8 is a vertical cross sectional View similar to FIGURE 6, but showing the locking mechanism in the unlocked position.

Referring to the drawings, it can be seen that the sprayin g device 10 comprises a generally U-shaped base 12, a spraying tube 14, and a locking mechanism 16.

The U-shaped base 12 comprises a bight portion 18 con- Spraying tube 14 comprises a heavy duty metallic pipe having an arcuate portion 28 covering an arc of approximately 90 and a generally horizontally extending end portion 30. The leg 20 has a vertically extending U-- shaped slot 32 formed in its upper edge and extending downwardly therefrom. The horizontal portion 30 of g the spraying tube extends through the slot 32 and is rotatably journalled therein. The extreme left end of the horizontal portion 30 has a radially extending annular ring 39 fixed thereon. A standard fire hose coupling 36 of generally cylindrical shape telescopically receives the left end of the ring 39 and its annular flange 34. The coupling 36 has an inwardly radially extending annular flange- 38 which extends into an annular groove 41 on the outer surface of ring 39 and rotatably journals the coupling 3 6 on the ring 39 thus preventing separation of the coupling from the tube 28. A sleeve 40 is welded to the outer .sur-

face of the ring 39 and has rotatably mounted therein a wire handle member 42. 7

1 The conventional coupling 36 has internal threads 44 for receiving a firehose fitting 43 and a sealing gasket 46. The locking mechanism 16 includes a box-like housing 48 comprising upper and lower walls 50 and 52, side Walls 54 and 56, and a back wall 58. The front of the housing.

is generally open as shown at 60. A stud 62 extends vertically between the central portions of the top and bottom walls 50 and 52 and is secured thereto.

A short support 64 and a long support 66 are welded to the bottom edge of the portion 30 and extend downwardly therefrom in spaced parallel relationship. A bearing sleeve 63 is welded between the lower end of the short support 64 and the center of the long support 66. The stud 62 is coextensive with'the long support 66 and is secured thereto by screw members 70. The long and short supports may be welded to the tube 14 as shown at 72. The housing 48 may be further secured to the support 66 by means of a removable plate 74 secured by a fastener 76 to the bottom wall 52 as shown in FIGURE 6.

An operating plunger 78 of circular cross section extends through aligned bores in the supports 64 and 66 and is rotatable and slidably mounted therein. The plunger 78 has an enlarged part 80 substantially shorter than the bearing sleeve 68 and reciprocable therein. However, a coil spring 82 normally urges the enlarged portion to the left end of the sleeve 68 so that the locking projection 84 will extend beyond the support 64. A handle member 86 extends normal to the plunger 78 and is secured to its rightend by either or a combination of threads and a cotter pin 88. As shown in FIGURE 7, the ver-. tically extending side edges of the members 66 and 62 are curved forwardly so as to form cam surfaces 90 and 92. A cam member 94 extends generally parallel to the handle 86 and has a central bore which telescopically receives the plunger 78. The cam member 94 is locked to the plunger by means of a cotter key 96. v The front leg 20 has a plurality of generally horizontally extending bores 98 formed therein and arranged along an arc concentric with the axis at the portion 30. As the tube 1.4 is rotated, the locking end 84 of the plunger 78 successfully passes the locking bores 98.

As shown in FIGURE 3, the right end of the tube 14 is sealed by an elliptical vertically extending plate 100.

A horizontally extending bearing shaft 102 is fixed to the center of the plate 100, extends through a U-shaped slot 103 in the upper edge of the leg 22, and is rotatably journalled in the bottom of the slot. As shown more clearly in FIGURE 4, a rectangular locking plate 104 is pivotally mounted at an upper portion of the leg 22 on its outer surface by means of a rivet 106. The plate 104 may be locked in a horizontal position over the shaft 102 by a screw 108. When the screw 108 is removed, the plate 104 may be pivoted to the A position illustrated in FIGURE 4 in dotted lines so as to permit the shaft 104 and the pipe 14 to be removed from the base 12.

A handle 110 similar to the hand-1e 42 is pivotally securedto the plate 104 by means of a sleeve 112 welded to the plate.

FIGURE 2 illustrates the device being operated manually for sprinkling the side of a building to put out a fire or to prevent the side of the building from becoming overheated by a fire in an adjacent building. When used as illustrated in FIGURE 2, the handle 86 of the locking device is pulled manually to the rear so as to compress spring 82 and withdraw the locking portion 34 from one of the locking bores 98. When the plunger is withdrawn from the locking bores 98, the handle 86 is rotated 90 in either direction to the position illustrated in FIGURE 8 whereby the forwarded projecting ends 95 of the cam member 94 are vertically aligned with each other and with the flat vertically extend-ing central portion 91 of the stud 62. In this position, the ends 95 effectively prevent the locking end 84 of plunger 78 from entering any of the bores 98 and thereby the tube 14 is free to oscillate on the base 12. To oscillate the tube 14, it is only necessary for the operator to hold the handle 42 in one hand and the handle 110 in the other hand as shown in FIGURE 2. The handle 110 is used for stabilizing the sprinkler, while the operator rotates the tube by oscillating the handle 42.

If it is desired to use the sprinkler to create a fire curtain or direct a spray in a constant direction, the bandle 86 is rotated through a horizontal position as indicated in FIGURES 6 and 7 whereby the cam member 94 is also rotated to a horizontal position and its ends 94 extend over the cam surfaces 90 as to permit the spring 82 to urge the plunger forwardly and engage a selected bore 98 for holding the tube 14 at any desired angle. The thrust plate 24 is rotated to a position perpendicular to the bight portion 18 of the base for increasing the stability thereof. The thrust plate 24 thus effectively counteracts the thrust created by the jet of water 114 issuing from the spraying tube 14.

It is to be noted that the arcuate portion 28 of the spraying tube has a plurality of bores 116 arranged in a line at its upper surface. The central bores 116 extend generally radially, the outer bores at the ends of the tube 14 diverge outwardly from radial lines extending through the bores. This causes the bores to create a wider spray pattern than would be created if all the bores were radial.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A device for fighting fires comprising a self-supporting U-shaped base having a fiat bight for resting upon a supporting surface, first and second upstanding flanges; and an arcuate spray tube terminating at one endin a horizontally extending portion; said first flange on the base having a U-shaped slot formed in its upper end, said slot rotatably receiving the horizontal end portion of the spray tube, a vertically extending plate closing the other end of the spray tube, a horizontally extending bearing shaft fixed to the center of the plate, a U-shaped slot in the second base flange rotatably receiving the horizontal bearing shaft, and a plurality of bore holes arranged in a line in the upper surface of the spray tube.

2. The combination of claim 1 including a locking plate pivotally secured to the upper portion of the second base flange and releasably securing the bearing shaft to the second base flange.

3. The combination of claim 2 including a first handle means secured to the locking plate and a second handle means secured to the rotatably received horizontal end portion of the spray tube for effecting rotational movement of said tube.

4. The combination of claim 3 including a thrust plate rotatably mounted on the flat bight of the base at the center thereof, said thrust plate being of a length slightly less than the bight of the base thus allowing said thrust plate to be positioned with its longitudinal axis located at any position between one wherein the plate axis is.

perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the base and a second wherein the plate axis is parallel to the base axis.

5. The combination of claim 4 including a releasable locking mechanism for selectively locking the spray tube to the base in any one of a plurality of positions, said locking mechanism comprising a spring actuated plunger mounted on the lower surface of the spray tube adjacent the first base flange, said first base flange having a plurality of spaced holes for receiving the plunger and locating the spray tube in various positions.

6. The combination of claim 5 wherein the locking mechanism includes a holding means for holding the plunger in a disengaged position so as to allow free rotation of the spray tube.

7. The combination of claim 6 wherein the bore holes in the center of the spray tube are coaxial about radial lines extending therethrough and defining the curvature of said tube and the bore holes at the end of said tube diverge outwardly with respect to other of said radial lines extending therethrough.

8. The combination of claim 1 including a releasable locking mechanism for selectively locking the spray tube to. the base in any one of a plurality of positions, said locking mechanism comprising a spring actuated plunger mounted on the lower surface of the spray tube adjacent the first base flange, said first base flange having a plurality of spaced holes for receiving the plunger and 1ocating the spray tube in various positions.

9. The combination of claim 8 wherein the locking mechanism includes a holding means for holding the plunger in a disengaged position so as to allow free rotation of the spray tube.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 528,144 Cadwell Oct. 30, 1894 930,767 Keene Aug. 10, 1909 961,251 Opitz June 14, 1910 1,021,374 Opitz et al Mar. 26, 1912 1,049,483 Hopkins Jan. 7, 1913 1,068,872 Eichhotf July 29, 1913 1,129,713 Nikola Feb. 23, 1915 1,191,643 Wilson et al. July 18, 1916 2,714,530 Shepard Aug. 2, 1955 

